


something fleeting, but beautiful

by rarmaster



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/F, F/M, also if you squint it's Technically An Ot4, i said i was writing this for the Ot3 but uh... they don't actually all 3 interact in this!! oops!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 10:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11079399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarmaster/pseuds/rarmaster
Summary: When they tell Cinderella's story, they will speak of talking mice, and balls, and the spark of true love between her and the Prince. They will tell you about the glass slippers, and the Fairy Godmother. But they won't tell you about the two wonderful, beautiful Keyblade Wielders that Cinderella also met on the best night of her life.





	something fleeting, but beautiful

_“Didn’t you tell me it was important to be strong?”_

_“Oh, um. Guess- Guess I did.”_

Cinderella couldn’t help but smile to herself at the memory, of his nervous laugh and awkward smile, as they made their way down the hall. Perhaps she should be worried about the monsters, but this man who’d come to her aid certainly seemed to have that under control. He was _very_ good at staying between her and the monsters. Cinderella instead just focused on staying out of his way.

She was _extremely_ looking forward to this ball, excitement thrumming harder and harder in her veins with every step she took. She wouldn’t let wading through a bunch of monsters put a damper on her evening. Besides—seeing as the monsters were the only reason she got to meet this stranger a second time, she couldn’t say it was _all_ bad.

Cinderella watched the man continue to cut through monsters (she’d have to ask his name, but now seemed like a bad time), thinking it was funny; if she hadn’t met him before this moment, she might think completely differently of him. If she didn’t already know the warmth of his voice, the gentleness of his hand on her shoulder as he told her she had to be strong—she might not see the warmth in his eyes, now, as he kept glancing to check on her. She might have only seen a man doing his duty, keeping her safe. But there _was_ a warmth in his eyes, as he glanced to check on her again. A warmth, and an earnestness, too.

“You good?” he asked, when all the monsters were gone.

“Yes, I’m quite alright,” she assured him, with a small laugh. Despite her words, he studied her worriedly, like he expected her to be hiding a wound, or something. It was kind of cute.

They were at the top of the stairs, standing right outside the ballroom. Cinderella glanced in, taking in all the colors and the swirl people dancing. She felt a little breathless. But first…

She turned back to the man. “Thank you, um…” She trailed off here, an invitation for him to give his name.

“Oh! Terra,” he said.

She smiled at him. “Thank you, Terra,” she said. “I’m Cinderella, by the way.”

“It’s, um, nice to meet you. Even though, I guess we already met…? Uh.” He coughed, awkwardly, and Cinderella put her hand to her mouth to hide her giggle. “Anyway. It was nothing. Least I could do, to help you get here. But, uh… I should get going.” He gave her an awkward little bow, and then started to head down the stairs.

She had already figured he wasn’t here for the ball, but she feigned ignorance anyway, hoping to get him to stay, just a little longer. “Oh, you aren’t going to the ball?” she asked, to stop him before he got more than two steps down the stairs.

“Uhh…” Terra scratched behind his ear. “No, I wasn’t planning on it. I have… things I need to do?” It sounded more like an excuse than a reason, and she noted the nervousness he eyed the ballroom with.

“Can’t they wait?” Cinderella pressed, stepping away from the ballroom and towards him. “I _would_ like to dance with you…”

At this, Terra seemed surprised. “You would?” And when she nodded, he pointed at himself, his voice a little squeaky as he asked: “With me?”

Cinderella laughed and nodded again, smiling encouragingly at him. “Just one dance,” she added, hoping to take some of the pressure off of him.

Terra hesitated, but… “Alright,” he relented. He climbed back up the stairs to join her again, offering a hand out to her. “One dance.”

“Thank you,” she said, as she took his hand. Together they made their way onto the dancefloor.

“Uh-huh,” Terra answered, glancing around nervously. No one seemed to be paying any attention to them, though. “Just, um… You should know I’ve never, really, danced before.”

Cinderella smiled slyly up at him—he was only barely taller than her. “That’s alright,” she told him, in a secretive whisper. “I’ve never really danced before either.” She giggled, especially as relief washed over Terra’s face.

“Oh, that makes me feel a lot better,” he said.

Cinderella giggled again. “Here, I think it goes something like this…” She helped him position his hand on her waist, heart fluttering a bit in her chest. She remembered taking classes on dancing, when she was much, much younger—while her father was still alive—just like any other proper lady would. She remembered the basics. And it was easy to eye everyone else in the crowd, easy to mimic what they were doing.

Terra caught on quick, only trodding on her skirts once. He watched his feet for a bit after that, but only for a bit. And then he was dancing with the same ease she was.

Cinderella let out a little happy sigh. All her dreams really HAD come true. She’d made it to the ball, and now she was dancing with a handsome man… Not that Terra had ever been in her dreams before this moment, but she basked in his presence anyway. She savored every second of this dance. His hand on her waist, the closeness of their bodies… Smiling up at him as he smiled nervously back, warmth in his brown eyes. Cinderella felt as if she could fly.

Someone cleared their throat and tapped Terra on the shoulder. When they stopped dancing, Cinderella saw—oh! The Prince! What was he doing all the way over here? The crowd around them had stopped moving completely, seeming to wait with bated breath. How long had they been still? How long had they been watching? Cinderella’s heart hammered in her chest at the thought.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the Prince said, with a gleam in his eyes. He seemed to be a little nervous himself, for some absurd reason. “But… Would it be alright if I had a dance with this beautiful lady?”

The question, Cinderella though, was pitched towards Terra. But then, the Prince’s eyes never left her face. A blush rose to her cheeks. Had he really come all the way over here just to dance with _her_ …?

When Terra didn’t answer right away, Cinderella turned to him, and realized he was looking to her for her opinion. A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. How awfully sweet of him! She nodded a little to show she appreciate the gesture, then turned to the prince to answer for herself.

“Oh, it’s no bother at all! I’d love to,” she said. “Besides… I think you said you had places to be?” She directed this last bit towards Terra, at which he nodded. And coughed awkwardly.

“Um, things to do, I think I said,” he answered. Then he shook his head like he’d decided that had been a terrible thing to say. “I mean! Well, yeah.” He stopped there, inclining his head in the Prince’s direction, and then stepping away from Cinderella. He smiled warmly at her. “Enjoy your night, Cinderella,” he said.

“I will,” she assured him. “And, Terra?”

When he paused, she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. She barely needed to stand on her toes to achieve the endeavor.

“Thank you,” she said.

“I… oh.” Terra blinked rapidly a few times, as if trying to regain his bearings. “Uh. You’re welcome.” He bowed slightly towards her and the Prince. “H- have a good night.” He headed off, looking to be in a daze.

Cinderella giggled, and beside her the Prince laughed amicably. He didn’t seem at all bothered—in fact, the twinkle in his eyes seemed to shine a little brighter, as he held out his arm for Cinderella to take.

“Who was that?” he asked. “Someone you know?”

“I really only just met him,” Cinderella admitted, as they moved towards the center of the dancefloor. The crowd parted easily for them. “But he was _very_ sweet.”

“And handsome,” the Prince said. After he did, he staggered a step, expression looking much like he hadn’t intended to say that aloud.

But Cinderella only beamed up at him, glad someone else thought so too. “ _Wasn’t_ he?”

The Prince considered her a moment, and then laughed lightly. “You know, maybe I chose the wrong dance partner…” he mused, his smile pulled like he was teasing. He took a second to peer over the crowd as if he hoped to spot Terra again.

Cinderella laughed at that, too. “Well, unfortunately for you, he has _very_ important things to do,” she said, a smile tugging at her own lips.

“I wouldn’t say _unfortunately_ …” the Prince answered, and pulled Cinderella close to him, so they could dance. He smiled down at her as she gasped, and she blushed hard. To say that she’d expected any of this from the Prince would be a complete and utter lie, but… she was very happy.

The two of them talked and danced for hours, until those “very important things” Terra needed to be doing turned out to be stopping a monster that had crashed the ball.

Cinderella and the Prince got safely out of the way, though they didn’t go far. It should have been terrifying, but instead the two of them just laughed at the absurdity of the creature, and marveled at the amazing magic that must have made its instruments play themselves. They also, may have, just a tiny bit, been appreciating the view as Terra fought. Cinderella knew she did.

“He has such nice abs,” she whispered, unable to tear her gaze away from Terra.

“Doesn’t he?” the Prince answered, sounding equally awed.

Truly, it was the best night of Cinderella’s life.

 

 

✧ ✧ ✧

 

 

“Get down!”

Cinderella didn’t have time to respond to the shout, already being shoved to the ground. She heard the explosion around her, but couldn’t feel it, shielded by someone else’s body as well as a magical glowing barrier. When the dust settled, she realized her savior was… Aqua. They’d only exchanged a few words earlier, but it had been a good—if short—conversation. It still made her warm to know the trouble Aqua had gone through to stall for her, the work Aqua’d put in even when they hadn’t met each other yet.

Cinderella spared no more than a glance at the carriage-turned-monster before looking at the woman still protectively shielding her, though the barrier had gone down. Aqua looked nervously down at her, scanning her as if for wounds, and Cinderella laughed lightly.

“I’m alright,” she assured Aqua. “And I appreciate the rescue. Though, perhaps you _should_ move your hand away from my—”

Aqua jolted, pulling away from Cinderella entirely, her cheeks going _very_ red. “I- sorry,” she stammered. Cinderella just laughed some more, which only made Aqua blush harder. “Here.” Aqua got to her feet, and offered a hand to help Cinderella up, looking pointedly everywhere but at Cinderella’s face.

Cinderella took the proffered hand, gasping a little bit in surprised as Aqua pulled her up with much strength and much haste. But then, there _was_ a monster in the forest, so perhaps the haste was necessary.

“I’ll take care of it,” Aqua said, eyes fixed on the monster. “Don’t worry.”

“I’ll get out of your way,” Cinderella told her, and promptly did so. The safest place, she figured, might be inside, but she wasn’t scared. Instead she lingered nearby, behind a bush. Luckily, this hiding spot also had the perk of being able to watch Aqua.

She’d seen Aqua’s friend Terra fight up-close, though despite the fact he and Aqua shared a similar weapon, they fought completely differently. Watching Aqua was like watching a dance, with all the grace and precision she moved with. It was mesmerizing. Cinderella wondered if Aqua was any good at proper dancing, but then… perhaps she really just wanted to feel Aqua’s hands on her waist one more time. If Aqua stuck around longer than Terra had, she would absolutely be invited to the wedding. Cinderella could land a dance with her then. After all, one dance wouldn’t hurt. (And, she had a feeling her prince wouldn’t mind…)

The monster was dealt with quickly, and then Cinderella was moving to meet Aqua as much as Aqua was running to check on her.

“Are you okay?” Aqua asked, hands on Cinderella’s arms, peering up at Cinderella’s face, as if she honestly expected Cinderella to have gotten caught in the crossfire.

Cinderella laughed again, amused by Aqua’s earnest concern. She was as bad as Terra, perhaps worse. “Yes, yes, I’m fine,” Cinderella said. Then she noticed the gash on Aqua’s arm. “Oh! But you’re hurt.”

“Oh,” Aqua looked down at her own arm, seeming unsurprised. “Don’t worry, I can—”

She reached over towards it, healing magic on her fingertips, but Cinderella beat her to it. She caught Aqua’s hand to pull it away, and sent her own healing magic through Aqua. She knew healing magic, of course, even if she didn’t know many other kinds of magic.

“You… didn’t have to,” Aqua said, slowly. Her cheeks were red again, and she looked perhaps upset that she’d let Cinderella do that. Well, it wasn’t like Cinderella had intended to use magic for anything else any time soon, and Aqua was probably worn out from the battle, which Cinderella could have told her, but instead:

“It was the least I could do for you,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Oh! It- it was nothing!” Aqua assured her brightly, though there was still an awkwardness in her smile.

Cinderella considered her a moment, trying not to laugh any more, though this bumbling earnestness was as cute on Aqua as it had been on Terra. She just let herself smile, instead, and met Aqua’s eyes. “I… hope you won’t be offended if I have another gift of thanks, though…” she said carefully, still uncertain of her next move, but more than that watching Aqua to gauge her reaction.

Predictably, Aqua looked a little uncomfortable. “I- I mean,” she stammered. “You don’t have to. It was my pleasure to help, _really_ …”

“I insist,” Cinderella said.

Aqua relented with a sigh. “Alright. But if it’s munny, I don’t want or need it.”

Cinderella couldn’t help but laugh at that. She shook her head. “No, not munny,” she assured Aqua. She intended to just give Aqua a kiss on the cheek, like she’d given Terra, but then it occurred to her this might be her last chance to do anything like this—she was about to get married, after all!—and instead…

She grabbed Aqua by the face, bending down to reach (not that she had to bend far, she was only slightly taller than Aqua), and pressed a quick kiss to Aqua’s lips. Aqua let out a note of surprise, and jolted away before long. That was alright, though. It had been good, while it had lasted.

“I- oh,” Aqua stammered. Her face was _extremely_ red now, a sharp contrast to her blue hair. She blinked rapidly, looking dazed. “Oh I um. Oh.”

Cinderella smiled at her, and started moving back towards her (old) house, since that’s where the royal messenger had headed off to. “Thank you for everything, Aqua,” she said. “I should get going.”

Maybe it was better to leave it at this, anyway, as much as she wanted a chance to dance with Aqua. Likely Aqua had places to be, more important things to attend to, the same way Terra had.

To Cinderella’s surprise, though, Aqua was still standing in the forest clearing when she returned with the royal messenger—Aqua looked like she’d been waiting. Her cheeks were still a little pink, and she had trouble looking directly at Cinderella, but:

“Um, I… I think I should escort you through the forest?” Aqua said. “There might be more monsters.”

Cinderella smiled, brushing her hand against Aqua’s shoulder as she walked past. “That would be wonderful,” she said. “Especially since the carriage seems to have been destroyed.”

Aqua cringed a little bit. “Sorry about that…”

Cinderella laughed. “ _You_ weren’t the one who turned it into a monster!” she assured Aqua, as she headed into the forest.

They made light conversation the whole walk. Aqua seemed to be as awkward with casual conversation as Terra was, though perhaps she was just still flustered. It was a nice conversation, though, and nice to spend a few more moments with this wonderful woman. When they were finally at the castle, Cinderella was almost loath to part from Aqua’s company.

(But the Prince was wonderful too, and he had torn the kingdom apart just to find her.)

“Thank you, Aqua,” Cinderella said, feeling she couldn’t quite say it enough. She and Terra had both done so much for her. “For everything.”

“It was my pleasure,” Aqua answered with a smile. There was a nervous air about her, though. She tugged at her sleeve with one hand, the other hand reaching up to brush along her own lips. “Thank you for, um…” she began, only to trail off, blushing hard.

For the kiss? Cinderella giggled. Aqua really was _terribly_ cute. “It was my pleasure,” she told Aqua in kind. “I do hope I get to see you again, someday. And, you are invited to the wedding, you know. You and Terra both.”

At that, Aqua let out a surprised laugh. “I… I can’t really promise I can round him up soon enough to let him know,” she said. “Nor can I promise I’ll even make it.”

Cinderella had figured as much, but she pressed anyway. “Can you promise we’ll see each other again, at all?”

Aqua considered it a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. I can do that.” She smiled widely at Cinderella, a fondness burning in her eyes. After a moment she seemed to realize herself. With a flourish and a partial bow, she gestured Cinderella to the Prince, who was pacing on the stairs across the courtyard. “I believe your prince awaits,” Aqua said.

“That he does,” Cinderella agreed, with another light laugh. It was so easy to laugh—but then, this was the best day of her life. “Goodbye, Aqua,” she called, as she hurried to join her prince. “It was wonderful meeting you!”

She was already halfway across the courtyard, but still she heard Aqua’s quiet “Yeah. It was.”

Yes. Today was absolutely, positively, the best day of Cinderella’s life.


End file.
